Sunday, 24 December 2017

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs on 2017 - 5-2

We're nearly at the end of countdown now, but before we see what our favourite song of 2017 is, let's see what came in at numbers 5 through 2 on our countdown -

5. Dan Auerbach - Shine on Me

A solo outing from 1/2 of The Black Keys, "Shine On Me" is a sunny, guitar-pop song that feels like a lost George Harrison single. An unexpected delight, and a fun music video too.

4. Tom Williams - Everyone Needs a Home

Having been familiar with him for many years without absolutely falling for his music, 2017 was the year that Tom Williams finally smashed into our consciousness with his fantastic single "Everyone Needs a Home". It's a song inspired by the refugee crisis, and harks back to 70s rock, and is topped off with lush, string-swept melodies.

3. Drones Club - Hurricane

The London based musical collective-cum-cult Drones Club delivered a dark banger in the form of "Hurricane", a politically-charged electronic number with sinister undertones & an earworm-y central hook. If you see them live, it is a pretty arresting sight seeing a room full of people going crazy to this track.

2. Confidence Man - Bubblegum

And just falling short of the #1 position is the second entry in the top 10 for Australian band Confidence Man, this time with "Bubblegum", the song that made us fall in love with them in the first place.

"Bubblegum" is the kind of bonkers, hyperactive, cut & paste pop that we absolutely love to pieces. As well as calling to mind The Go! Team, and Deee-Lite (it's been called by some as a modern-day updating of "Groove Is In The Heart"), it also reminds us very much of The Asteroids Galaxy Tour in how its constituent parts slip and slide out as the song progresses. Ruddy great fun, and even more fun when you see the band performing it live.

About The Captain

So what can I tell you about myself? I am from Belfast. I enjoy writing about new music, which keeps me afloat. The Guardian once profiled this blog. I'm old enough to have experienced the Walkman without being retro, but not old enough to have used MySpace whilst it was still cool. I was nominated for the Sony Radio Golden Headphones Award in 2013. Caramacs and Battenberg are life affirming, and the moment some bright spark combines the two my life will be complete.